Room review: Captivate: Cirque

Note: This room has been rebranded as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, but the puzzles are unchanged.

This room was attempted in collaboration with Escapist X from Singapore Escape Room Reviews.
Check out his review of the room too!

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Their description: The smallest man in the world is found dead in his caravan at the Cirque travelling circus in Singapore. The police believe it was suicide but you don’t have to be a Fortune Teller to know otherwise. Can you catch the killer and escape?

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Unlike some of Captivate’s other rooms, their new room Cirque has little in the way of handholding, making it marginally harder to breeze through. Fortunately, Cirque is harder for the right reasons. A mix of solving skills is required, contributing to the overall sense that this is a well-rounded room.

If the room is lacking in any aspect, it’s probably in the relative lack of technological frills (although there are some). The decor also feels somewhat token. But what made the room memorable, for me, were some brilliant moments of realisation — which demonstrated that you don’t always need special effects to provide a surprise. These included the clever little endgame that closed the game on a good note.

You also do get a conclusion to the room’s central mystery, although the narrative disappears a bit before getting picked up at the end.

This review might not sound that glowing, yet I finished the room with a sense of satisfaction. Despite not being flashy, this room is RECOMMENDED as a decent all-rounder that should prove entertaining for both beginners and veterans.

Puzzle difficulty: 3.5/5
Puzzle logic: 5/5
Multimedia aspect of puzzles: 1/5

Atmosphere and setting: 2/5
Exciting flourishes, use of technology or physical aspects: 1.5/5
Storyline integration: 3/5

Their suggested number of players: 2 to 10
My suggested number of players: 2 to 4